Raymond Ford keeps things simple. He wants a title shot. Even simpler than that, he wants WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster.

None of those requests, however, will be taking place anytime soon, but he could get a bit closer.

The 26-year-old is putting the finishing touches on an arduous training camp. His Aug. 16 opponent, Abraham Nova, is a late replacement as Anthony Cacace pulled himself from their bout because of a back injury. Still, Ford will make his way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and attempt to dominate.

Normally, late replacements can be flat-out annoying. If they come in and steal the show, perfect. If they lose, they have a built-in excuse. Ford isn’t worried about any of those narratives.

Against Cacace, the New Jersey native was taking on The Ring’s No. 3 130-pounder and a former champion. Nova brings none of that to the table. So what exactly is keeping Ford motivated? Well, the former 126-pound beltholder looks back at a close split decision loss Nova had to Foster in 2024. Considering that it could’ve gone either way, Ford looks at his new opponent as a step up, not a step down.

“He damn near beat O’Shaquie Foster, and that’s the guy I been calling out,” Ford told The Ring recently. “It motivates me to go in there and really put a beating on Nova.”

All fights are must-win, but for Nova, he desperately needs this one. After almost knocking Foster off to become a world champion, his career has gone downhill. Four months after that defeat to Foster, he lost a fairly wide decision to Andres Cortes. He followed that up with a split-decision draw against Humberto Galindo.

Ultimately, he did grab a recent win over German Ivan Meraz on June 7 at Fenway Park in Boston, but he has a losing record (65-72-3). Yet, despite it all, Ford won’t call him a tenuous opponent.

It won’t be long now until the first bell rings, but once it does, Ford won’t be looking at Nova. Although he’ll be there physically, the 26-year-old will pretend it’s Foster standing in front of him.

“He kind of got to take O’Shaquie’s ass whooping a little bit.”